Improvement in sewing-machines



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J.fs. MOCURDY. I

SEWING MACHINE.

No. 46,303. .Y .Patented Feb. 7, 1865.'

J. S. M GCURDY. SEWING MACHINE.

l 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

No. 46,303. Y Y Patented Peb. 7, 1865.

sheets-Sheet 3.

J. S. MGCURDY.`

SEWING MACHINE.

Patented eb. 7, 186B.

i loop of needle-thread through thetwo loops UNITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

JAMES S. MCCURDY, .OFv BRIDGEPORT, ASIGNOR TO ELIAS'HOWE, JR., OF'

FAIRFIELD, OONNECTIC UT.

IMPROVEMENT lN SEW-ING-MACHINES.

Specification lforming part of Letters Patent N o. 46,303, datedFebruary 7, 1865; antedated January 28, 1865.

To all whom -itmay concern.

Be it known that I, JAMES SMOGURDY, of Bridgeport,in theconnty ofFairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented'certainnew and usefulImprovementsin Sewing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of my invention,reference being had to the accompanyin g drawings, inr which-e Figure 1represents aside elevation of a sewingmachine embodying theimprovements. Fig. 2 represents a vertical longitudinal sec` tion of apart of the same. Fig. 3 represents' a plan of the same-with the. partsabove the line x :v of Fig. 1' removed. Fig. 4 represents a view ofoneof the ends'of the machine. Fig. 5 represents a view of thev other endof the machine; and Figs. 6 to 15 representcertain'parts oftheinachinedetached from the remainder and placed` in different positions,which theyoccupy during sewing, and designated by the same letters ofreference as are applied to the same parts in the other drawings.

The objectof theinvention is to sewa looped seam with a loop of needle-thread passed through two preceding loops, and also to enable themachine to form stitches alternately long and short or all of equallengths at pleasso formed that when rotated in combination with areciprocating needle it will draw the preceding it, so as to produce acompound chain embroidery-stitch upon the fabric.

,The second part of the invention consists of the combination of thedouble-headed looping-I hook with the shaft that imparts motion to it bymeans of two pins controlled by a cam in such manner that each pin iswithdrawn alternately during a smallportion of the revolution ot thelooping-hook. to permit the loop of needle-thread to escape from thehook.

The thirdvpartof the invention consists of the combination of thefeedinginstrument with a shaft making one revolution to two perforationsof the needle through' the intervention of two cams of unequalprojection, so that the movements of the feeding-instrument arealternately long and short.

The fourthpart of the invention consists of the combination of thefeeding-iustrnmentwith a shaft making one revolution to two perforationsof the needle through the vintervention of two cams and twoadjnstablewipers, one

-of said cams having, two protuberances of equal projection arrangedat'its opposite sides and the other cam having a single protuberance ofgreater projection than the other two, so that by adjusting thecam-wipers the feeding-instrument-'may be caused to make alternatemovements f different lengths, or equal movements, as desired,.wherebythe machine can be set to sew stitches alternately long and short or ofequal length at pleasure.

Alltheimprovementsareembodiedin the machine represented in theaccompanying drawsite directions from the body of the hook, and

thc back a( a of each head of the hook is extended so far that it doesnot let off the-loop ,of thread seized by the hook until'the needle hasentered it in its descent to deliver a loop of thread to the hook-pointfollowing the backof'the head which lets off the loop. In .order thatthe back of the head of each hook may not prevent the descent of thene'edle for-this purpose each is slotted, as shown at Fig. 7, so as to`form a groove in which the needle can descend. The double-headedlooping-hook arranged to revolve in a circular groove formen in aring-support, G, which projects from thel bed-plate ofthe machine, andit is held in thev said groove by means of a ring-cap, b.

1n order that the double-headed looping-hook may be caused to revolve,itis combined with a shaft, H, to which a grooved pulley, .Lis securedthat receives the round belt extending fromthe treadle motion or otherdriving mech- 2V t emacs anism; and in order that the loops of threadseized by the hook-heads may escape the combination with this shaftisformed by means of two pine, fm, m, which enter sockets formed iu -thebody of the doubleheaded looping-hook. Each of these pins is containedin a separate socket i-n a hubK, secured to the revolving shaft H, andeach has a head, c, which is borne against a stationary face-cam, I, bymeans .ofl

a helical spring placed in the pin-socket. The upper part of thecam'recedes from the'doubleheaded looping-hook, as seen at- Figs. 2, 3',and 8, so that, as each pin is carried by the revolution of the shaft Halong this receding por- .tion its head isl compelled by the springtofol- 4low the inclination of the cam, and its4 point is withdrawn fromthe socket in the doubleheaded looping-boekte permit the loop of threadto-escape. lAs the receding portion of thecam extends but a shortdistance and then approaches .the double-headed loo'ping-hook thewithdrawn pin is caused to re-engage with the hook before the other pinis withdrawn in turn, so that the double-headed hook is always driven bythe shaft'. This mode of cont-rolling thedriving-pins by a cam permitsthe looper to be arranged so that its points may revolve in a plane'perpendicular to tb'e'axis ofthe shaft `which carries the pins. l

The needle-bar U is caused to move up and down by means of arock-shaft,L, which passes through the hollow needle-arm E. The front end of thisrockshaft is fttedlwith an arm, N, which is connected with theneedle-bar by means of ,a link, 0, so that as the rock-shaft rocks toand fro the needle-bar and the needlel d carried by it are alternatelydepressed and t raised. In ordertbat the needle-bar may make twodescents foreach revolution of the double headed looping-hook, therock-shaft L is con,- nected with the revolving shaft of au arm, P. aconnectiug'rod, Q, two pins, ff, and two slides, g g, moving incrossslots h k, formed in the) hub ofthe pulley y-wheel J, these devicesconstituting one of the well'- known mechanical movements for obtainingtwo double reci procations for one revolution of a shaft. l

f rlhe needle d is secured in' 'a socket in the needle-bar() by meansot' aclamp-screw, i. When 1t is depressed its point passes downthrough ahole in the table-plate B, and carries the loop of thread in its eyewithin the range of 'motion ofthe hooked points of the doubleheadedlooping-hook,dand the motions of the needle-bar and double-headedlooping-hook are so timed that one hooked point of the latter passes bythe needle -aud enters the loop of thread carried by it as the needlerises, and permits the loop to swell outward from its side. Thehook-points of the double-headed loopinghook are arranged to pass closeto the stem of the needle at the side nearest the cam I.

The feeding-instrument of the machine consists of a toothed plate, S,secured to one end of a lever, T, which is pivotednear the middle of itslength to the frame of the machine. The

feed-plate is arranged to rise and sink and to move to and fro in a slotin the table-plate B i of the machine. It is raised once foreachdepression of theirieedle-bar b v means-ot' the hub K, which is securedto the shaft H., and

has two protuberances,l s s, at its sides dia-` metrically opposite eachother. rlhe feed-bar is 4depressed bythe spring of the arm j ofthe leverT, which acts antagonistically to the cams' s s, and holds thefeed-plate out of contact with the cloth, except when it is raised bythe protu'bera'nces of the cams. i

In order that the feed-plate maybe moved to and fro to feed thel clothforward and to retrograde previous to each feeding movement, thebutt-end j of the feed-Lever is fltted with two adjustable wipers, andfr', operating in connection with twocams, Urand U', secured to' theshaft H. 'lhese cams, acting upon the wipers, move the feed-plate in onedirection to. feed the cloth forward `past the needle, and thefeed-plate is moved backward, antagonistically to the cams, by nieans ofa spring, r, 4applied to the `butt of the feed-lever. One of the cams,U, has two protuberances, t t, which project equal distances at theopposite -sides ot' the cam. The other cam, U', has a single i'protuberance, k, of aboutdouble the projection of those of the firstcam, U. The shanks of the i l wipers .1o wl are screwed through bossessecured to the 'feed-lever T, and pass through holes in the frame of themachine to its exterior,-where they are formed into milled heads V V.,by turning which the positions of the wipers may be adjusted relativelyto the cams which act l upon them. The cam `U is so set with-referenceto the cani U that the -protuberanceof the former is in position to actupon its wiper wf at 'the same time thatone ofthe protuberl ances ot'the latter is in position to act on its H by means wiper x. Hence iftherwiper a` be adjusted hy screwing its shank outward or from the cam.'so that the cam in its revolution cannot touch it, the feed-plate S willne moved by the alternate action of the two protuberances of the 1cam Uvon itsjwiper w, and as these protuberancesare .of equal projection themovements ot' the feed-plate will all be equal, 'and the stitches willbe of uniform length, which, however, may be regulated by adjustingthewiper if, on the other hand, the wiper 5v be adljusted by screwingits shank inward toward l the cam, so that the cam Uir`1 'its revolutionacts upon it, the feed-plate will be moved altermately by the action ofoneiot' the protuberi ances-ot' the cam U on its wiper w and by theactiony of the protuberance of the cam U on its wiper zr', and as theprotubera-noe of` the cam U' is double that of those of the cam U themovement of the feed-plate may be made alternately long and short, andthe stitches l may be alternately long and short, the relative .lengthsof thelong and short stitches being 1 1,

regulated by theA adjustment of the wipers.

The machineis titted with a standard, X, for

the spool of needle-thread, a thread-tension, Y, and thread-guides w w,to direct the needleit, present it tdthe action of the double-headed itis spread laterally, so that the succeeding looping-hook tirstdescribed.

the tigures.

-seams it maybe made to produce an ordinary lsingle-thread-chain-stitchin which each loop 4second looping-hook ditfers'from that first de--each loop of needle-thread is drawn through eases 4 3 thread on its waytothe needle. It is also provided with a presser-foot, Z, of the usualconstruction, and its appurtenances.

'.lhe machine is put in operation by turning the shaftll in thedirection of the arrow c in' When it is sewing, the needle is caused todescend, perforate the material to be scwed, carry the loop ofneedle-thread through looping-hook, and rise again, preparatory to asucceeding descent. As the loops of needlethread are presented by theneedle, they are seized alternately by 'the hooked points of theloopinghook, and are extended by them. The body of the hook is widerthan its points, so' that as each loop of thread is extended by therevolution ofthe hook-point that has seized it hook-point eau draw thelsucceeding loop of thread through its predecessor,v and as the loopsarc nottwisted by thisy mode ot'operation ille chain of loops formingthe under side ot'l the seam, when completed, lies tlat against thesurface ofthe cloth. As the backs ofthe hookheads of the double-headedlooping-hook extend backward for a considerable distance, (as shown inthe drawings) the loop of needlethread seized by each hook-point is notgiven up orlet oil' until the succeedinghook-point has seized and isextending a succeeding loop of needle-thread presented bythe needle, andthe needlehasdescended a second time and en tered the loop of thread letoff, so that the loop of needle-thread sci/.ed at this last descent ofthe needle is drawn by one of the hooks through the two preceding loops,thereby producing a doublechain embroidery stitch resembling braid uponthe under face of the fabric.

When the machine isused for sewingordinary of needle-thread is .drawnthrough the next preceding loop alone`(instead of the preceding twoloops) by substituting the double-headed looping-hook represented atFigs. 13 and 14 for that represented in Figs. 5, 6, and 7. This scribedin the form ot'the hook-heads, theliacks of which do not extend as faras those of the Hence, as the hooked points of the double-headedloopinghook are at opposite `sides ofthe circle describcd by it; theloopextended by one hooked'point is given np as the next one isextcnded,so that the loop next preceding it, and there need beilo-surplus loose thread to embarrass the operation ofthe machine. Inusing this second looping-hook a perforated guard, a, may be placedunder the table-plate in such position relatively to the needle that thelatter in its descent almost touches the side of theperforation of theguard farthest from 'the cam I, so that said guard prevents the swell otthe-loop of needle-A .thread at that side of the needle and causes it toswell out to a greater extent at the other side than it otherwise would,thereby insuringv its seizure bythe hook-point of the looping-hook.

The invention has thus far been describedas embodied in a machine sewingwith a single thread. It may, however, be einbodiedin a machine sewingwith twoV threads by arranging a bobbin of thread i-n the double-headedlooping-hook in such manner that theloopsof needle-thread will pass oversuch bobbin. In

this case, it' the machine be fed in the same direction as the machinebefore described, aI chainstitch with a second thread ruiming throughits loops on the-under side of the cloth will be produced. If, on theother hand, the machine were constructed and arranged to feed in adirection opposite to thatin which the be- `foredescrihed machine feeds,a two-threaded lock-stitch would ybe produced.

In all cases each loop ot' needle-thread is drawn up to the cloth by theextension of the succeeding loop.

Having thus described `a machine embodying my improvements, whatl claimas' my invention, and desire to secure by Letters latent,.is*

1. The eoinbination, in asewing-machlne, of the reciprocating needle-barwith a double-l headed rotating hook so formed'that when rotated incombination with arcciprocatingneedie it will draw a loop ofneedle-thread through -the two preceding loops, substantially as setforth.

2. lhe combination of the double headed lool'iing-hook with the'shaftxthat imparts 'motion to it by means of two pms, which arecontrolled by a cam. the whole operating substantially as set forth.

3. Theeombination of the feedinginstrument of the sewing-machine with ashaft making one revolution to two descents by the necdle-carrierthrough the intervention ot' two 'cams otl unequal projection, the wholeoperating substantially as set forth.

' 4. 'lhe combination ofthe feeding-instrument with a shaft making onerevolution to two descents bythe needle-carrier, through theintervention ot' twocams and two adjustable wipers, one of said camshaving two protuber-" ances of equal projection, and the other onehaving one protuberance of greater projection than those of the othercam, the whole operating substantially as set forth.

In witness whe1eot'I havc hereunto set my hand. y

e. s. MeoUnDY. Witnesses: Y

S. A. IIowE, F. M. TOWER..

